Jane In All But Name
by razielim
Summary: Jason is invited to go on an expedition with his boss. When he gets separated from the group, and is left wandering through the jungle, lost and afraid, he thinks this journey is going to be the most miserable experience of his life. Until a certain man drops down from the forest canopy as deftly as any ape...
1. Discovery of the Ape Man

Jason sighed as he packed up his things, carefully rolling up his pencils so the tips wouldn't dull and neatly folding the extra sheets of paper into his notebook. He figured that his things would eventually get messed up during the long course of their trek through the jungle, but he hoped to minimize the damage by taking care of his possessions. Octavian insisted on calling him "prissy" for it.

Shouldering his pack, and looking around to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, Jason hurried after the company that was already out of the clearing.

"You really need to stop falling behind so much before we lose you and you get eaten by a lion."

Jason flushed from anger a little. Not at Thalia- his sister was just teasing him. He pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose and swatted at an insect.

"I've asked Octavian a hundred times to give me a two minute heads up before we start moving again. ...and there's no lions in this jungle."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Leaning closer so no one walking in front of them would hear, Thalia whispered, "But Octavian's an asshole, so I don't know what you expected."

They shared a grin before returning their gazes to the forest floor, trying not to trip over anything.

Jason didn't really mind the hard and fast hiking. He was used to taking his sketchbook on hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains over the weekends, looking for beautiful birds and gorgeous arrangements of branches to sketch. Plus he was lucky enough to have Thalia for a sister, who was constantly dragging him out to help construct housing for the homeless and reading him lectures about eating enough protein.

Despite being completely physically capable of the endurance necessary for their trip, Octavian and his buddies still seemed to think that being a bespectacled artist somehow made him a weakling and a mama's boy. It's not that Jason thought they were completely off, it's that it felt like they were hitting too close to home with their insults. He really wished that he wasn't so insecure about his love of sketching and appreciation of nature's aesthetics. He knew there was nothing shameful about enjoying the things he did, but somehow he always let taunts about it get under his skin.

It seemed an insult to injury, however, that Octavian also enjoyed making unwelcome passes at him. The first time was uncomfortable, the second time embarrassing, and every time after that made Jason want to keep to himself more and more. Jason wondered more than a few times if it was maybe a bad idea for someone as introverted as him to go out on a journey through the wilderness with so many strangers. But he was already here, and there was nothing to do about it than to turn down Octavian's lascivious offers and bite his tongue as his adventurer buddies continued to mock him and his meticulously cared for art supplies.

Reyna had dropped back and smiled as Jason and Thalia approached her. Jason waved back and she fell into stride at his side. Jason felt grateful for having both his sister and his boss here. The first few days, it had added ammo to the men's insults that he was constantly spending time being "coddled" by women, but Thalia and Reyna eventually set them straight about how they weren't going to tolerate any sexism on this trip. Jason didn't really want to think this, since it was probably rather sexist too, but it only made him feel more downtrodden that his two companions had more of a backbone than he did.

By the time Octavian called a halt for the night, Jason was so submerged in his negative thinking that he was feeling physically exhausted, even though they hadn't been moving particularly faster than normal.

Thalia found them a spot to spread their sleeping bags out, and after looking around at her options, Reyna dropped her gear next to Thalia's. Jason smiled as he sat on his canvas bag and unrolled his pencils from the paper they were wrapped in, settling in to draw something quickly before bed. When Reyna had invited him on this trip, he was certain he didn't want to go without his sister. Unfortunately, Thalia could be a very combative person and he was always worried about asking her to go places. Seeing Reyna and Thalia get along and be friendly with each other was a relief, since Reyna was no shrinking violet herself when she got into it with people.

The snap of a twig behind him and to his right made Jason jump. Octavian was standing right behind him, curiously peering down into Jason's journal. The man had just come from lighting the fire and smelled strongly of it. It would have been a nice smell, a sexy smell, even, if Octavian's personality didn't make Jason want to scream in frustration.

"What's the point of drawing birds and branches, Grace? You can always just walk around with a camera instead."

Jason tried to keep the frown off his face.

"If I enjoyed photography, I would be happy to snap pictures."

Octavian snorted and crouched down until he was eye-level with Jason.

"If you must draw, why such a boring subject matter? Drawing the human figure would be much more exciting."

"I don't really see how."

Octavian leaned in with a grin and Jason knew he wouldn't like what he heard next. He tried to shift away a little, already bracing for the discomfort.

"I could pose for you. In... various stages of undress," Octavian bit his lip and let it slip sensually from his teeth before continuing, "We can see how long it takes for me to get excited under your intense scrutiny."

Jason shifted away further.

"That sort of thing would make me uncomfortable."

Octavian's sneer at getting shot down yet again was menacing. He clicked his tongue as he stood up.

"Maybe some other time, then."

Jason wasn't really sure how that even made sense, but he bit his tongue and went back to sketching the beautiful patterns the foliage made against the darkening sky. Thalia nudged him and gave him a thumbs up. Jason tamed the grin that threatened to break out into a small smile. No need to antagonize Octavian if he was looking- it would probably only make him more unpleasant.

It's not that Jason had anything against the human figure. If he had any privacy available to him, there would be more than one male nude in his sketchbook. But with Octavian lurking around and the other thugs in the expedition always on the lookout to ridicule Jason, he wasn't about to reveal his sexuality. He had a few sketches of his sister and Reyna, but he had quickly gotten bored of drawing women.

If Jason was being honest, his favorite thing to draw was his Ideal Man. It was the only thing Jason ever drew from his imagination, and the only thing he never tired of drawing. His Ideal Man always turned out different, as Jason had trouble deciding on what the perfect lover would look like. There were only a few details that he based his sketches on. The Ideal Man had to have a very fit body, long eyelashes, and a serious but not unkind mouth. His most recent sketches of this man had taken a turn for the tall, dark, and handsome, with mischievous eyes. There was a specific image finally solidifying in his mind, after years of chasing it, but he'd left for this trip before he had a chance to capture it on paper.

At this thought, Jason had to shake himself. He was starting to pine for an imaginary figure again, and with the sort of miserable mood he was already in today, that was simply a bad idea. Putting his supplies away with his drawing half finished, he joined the women's debate about the likelihood of discovering a new species of mammal on such an expedition.

Jason woke up feeling a lot less stressed that when he'd gone to bed. He lay for a long time, listening to men snoring in their sleep or groaning as they stretched. Jason loved how even past the boundary of their camp, the forest was full of noise at all times of day and night. People talk about the "silence" and "quiet" of nature, but neither of these two things were to be found here. The birds were currently singing and wind was brushing through the leaves of both the canopy and the underbrush. And of course, there was the ever-present ever-annoying hum of insects. Jason slapped something as it landed on his arm and rolled over onto his stomach with a grunt.

He was so comfortable right now, and he really didn't want to waste his good mood by getting up and having to deal with the other members of the expedition. Finally, slowly and with a lot of stretching, he got up and started packing his things up, determined to carry his good mood through breakfast. He helped the women with their things when they got up too. Both Reyna and Thalia complained that they could take care of things themselves, but he knew they were grateful for the extra couple minutes of private time out of sight of camp. The other hikers weren't too big on hygiene and often rushed the women, who needed a few extra minutes in the morning.

By the time breakfast was served and eaten, Jason was in an even better mood than when he woke up, almost entirely because he was so surprised that he hadn't had to deal with any verbal abuse or sexual advances yet. He shouldered his pack with a smile on his face, and set off after their guide, at a pace that left everyone else throwing him weird looks and scrambling to catch up.

The guide, for his part, looked both amused and excited to see the man that normally trailed behind keeping up with him so easily. Charon, that was the guide's name, was a tall man and looked like he was used to taking wider steps then he could while leading a bunch of tripping and panting Americans. Invigorated by Jason's enthusiasm, he pushed through the jungle harder and faster than normal, and threw a smile over his shoulder every time he looked back and saw Jason keeping up without a problem.

"You know, it's really refreshing to see you up front, Jason."

Jason spared a glance and a smile in Octavian's direction for the sake of being polite as the other man caught up to him.

"It really provides a nice view for anyone walking behind you."

Jason's already thin smile slipped off his face entirely. He did not need this right now.

"That's highly inappropriate, Octavian."

"Just paying you a compliment."

"I don't want it."

Octavian slid up to him and hissed in his ear.

"Please. It's exactly what you want, isn't it? I've been to Reyna's office. Flipped through that sketchbook on your desk. It's all you want, isn't it? A big, strong man to show your tight ass a good time? That what you fantasize about while you space out "bird watching"? Getting fucked by a nice, fat cock? Don't tell me-"

Jason stopped in his tracks, and Octavian passed him by in his momentum, spinning around to challenge Jason with his glare. Jason tried to think of something to say, his cheeks burning. Then he spun on his heel and walked back to where his sister and Reyna were. At the curious glances from the other adventurers, he set his face into one of determination, like he had an urgent reason to be walking to the back. They let him pass unmolested. Luckily, they'd been far enough behind to not see what happened through the foliage of the forest.

Thalia looked like she was about to ask what was wrong, but Jason just shook his head and walked past both her and Reyna, actually feeling the two women exchanging glances after his passing. Once he was far enough away, he stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around to keep walking forward again.

He kept his distance as they continued their hike up some tricky terrain. Every once in a while, he caught glimpses of Thalia looking back at him in concern, but he didn't acknowledge her and dropped back out of sight. He tried not to kick the ground in frustration, but there were a lot of leaves on the ground and it was tempting to throw a tantrum. Instead, he stared at the forest floor and imagined how much noise he could make if he lost his temper and started kicking leaves up.

He was so concentrated on this imagined racket and rustling, that the silence of reality suddenly struck him and jarred him out of his thoughts. He stopped, listening for his fellow travelers. Nothing. Just the constant ebb and flow of animal and plant sounds that were the natural orchestra of the jungle. He gave a sharp shout and listened. Nothing.

Trying not to panic, Jason broke out into a run in the direction he'd been heading. He deftly jumped low hanging vines and ducked under large drooping leaves, staring forward, determined to prove to himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He'd see Thalia right around that tree. No, that one. Or the next one.

He stepped on a patch of leaves and something went wrong. They didn't hold his weight. As his footing failed and he started careening to one side and sliding to the other, Jason swiveled terrified eyes to his left and saw no forest floor there, only layers upon layers of branches. He'd been running along the edge of a cliff and been so focused on looking forward that he didn't even notice.

His body hit the ground hard as he slipped down the treacherous slope almost vertically. Sharp rocks dug into his arm and thigh on his right side as branches snagged and tore at him from the other side. Jason squeezed his eyes shut, afraid of having them poked out and tried to grab at something- anything- to slow his descent. There was nothing but the quickly passing rocks that cut his fingers as he tried to grab at them. Jason's only hope to avoid injury at the bottom of the cliff was to try to relax his legs to minimize impact.

No sooner did he do that than he hit the ground. He lay panting for a while before finally opening his eyes, one at a time, and looking about nervously. No wild animals ready to spring and eat him. He sat up. The cliff face had curved out a bit at the bottom, making his landing even softer than he could have hoped for. Shaking with adrenaline, Jason carefully stood up and looked around. This part of the jungle seemed like any other part that he'd been in. He glanced back up at the cliff. There was no way he could scale it, and he couldn't even see the top behind so many leaves.

He should probably stay here. Even if his travelling party couldn't see him when they doubled back to search for him, they'd be able to call out and hear his response. With that thought in mind, Jason took a deep breath and relaxed against the rocks he'd slid down onto. His body felt like one big bruise after the fall, with many cuts and scrapes on his hands and forearms, but he was so grateful that there were no serious injuries that he considered them a small price to pay.

He sat there a long time, maybe a couple hours of listening intently for a search party, before he heard the hissing. His stomach tightened up and he tried to keep from making any sudden movements as he turned his head toward the sound. Above him and to his left, draped across thick roots protruding from the rock face was a giant constrictor, watching him. Jason gulped and started moving away. The snake struck out with its head in a sharp motion, and Jason just barely managed to lie flat against the ground to escape the sudden blow.

Constrictors might not be poisonous, but he really wasn't interested in finding out how much those huge fangs hurt. He scrambled to his feet the next moment. He'd taken off his canvas pack that contained all his hiking supplies earlier, and now it was way too close to the snake to reach for. As he started to sprint, still half hunched over from not having the time or thought to straighten up, he felt his drawing supplies slip from his shoulder. He half spun around to retrieve it, but caught one glimpse of the muscular snake already on the ground and slithering toward him, and spun right back around to keep running.

Terror gripped him as he realized that there could be even worse than snakes to look out for, even if he did manage to escape, and he pumped his legs faster. He ran until his lungs ached, and then until his legs felt weak, and still didn't dare slow down. Bursting through the foliage as he was, he had no chance to see the river until it was too late. With a cry of surprise, he fell face first into cold water. Shocked and bewildered, it took him a while to surface. Once he had that first gasp of air, though, he was right back to sprinting for his life, not sure which species of snakes could swim and not wanting to take his chances. He was almost to the opposite bank when he thought of alligators and a chill ran down his spine.

This time, full panic broke out, and Jason started pumping water under his arms so blindly that he didn't realize he'd reached the riverbank until his hand struck soil, and then he was out of there like a bullet, staring with horrified eyes at the water and trying to catch his breath despite his chest feeling like it was collapsing from pure primal fear.

When a few minutes passed and no alligators or crocodiles or snakes surfaced, and his breath finally started to even out, Jason let himself relax, and fall back onto the earth. He stared at the sky in complete and utter disbelief. How the hell was he going to be found now? How far had he run? He had no idea. He couldn't remember which direction he'd run from, or even if he'd run in a straight line.

Not that he was about to retrace his steps anytime soon. He propped himself up on his elbows, took one look at the murky water, and shuddered. There must have been a cataract nearby to kick up all those dirt particles into the water, and with such low visibility, there was no telling what was lying in wait under the surface. Jason stood up on weak and trembling legs and looked around. Deciding that his best bet was downstream, he started walking in that direction. Technically, this should be parallel to the general direction the expedition had been heading. And if he managed to get far enough downstream, he might reach a place where the sediment in the water finally started to settle and made the river less dangerous to cross.

He had walked less than an hour when he suddenly felt like he was being followed. There wasn't any sound, and he couldn't see anything when he turned around, but the feeling of eyes on his back was more intense than he'd ever felt before in his life. He took one last long look behind him. Nothing.

Then he started to sprint.

He ran parallel with the river, not daring to sprint into the trees. There was no hiding from any predators at the bank, but it was his only chance of not getting even more hopelessly lost. Finally, just as he was about to slow down, he heard evidence of being chased. Closing in, closer and closer, he could hear the bushes in the forest rustling. Whatever was chasing him was staying in the cover of the forest. Jason ran faster. Suddenly the noise behind him vanished. Jason didn't stop, unsure if silence was a good or a bad sign.

Then something dropped five feet in front of him and Jason screamed, falling backwards as he tried to slide to a stop.

Except it wasn't a something. It was a someone, and he looked very familiar.

* * *

><p>Note: The story on this website will be edited to not contain any explicit content. If you want to read the e<em>xplicit <em>content when I write it, you can find the unedited version on my _Ao3_ account, where my username is also _razielim_.


	2. Curiosity of the Ape Man

In front of him stood his Ideal Man.

Jason was vaguely aware of his jaw hanging loosely, but couldn't seem to get any control of it. He was staring at The Ideal Man, who was dressed in nothing but a leathery loincloth and looking like nothing short of fiction colliding with reality. Jason was absolutely positive he must have hit his head at some point.

There were a few features on this man that he never would have thought to draw- lightly slanted almond eyes rather than more masculine hooded ones, a bronze complexion rather than a more aristocratic pale one, wild short hair rather than gracefully combed tresses, and scars- so many scars. Jason couldn't help but confound the limitation of his own imagination for not having been able to capture details like that, as all of these things made the man more beautiful than Jason could have dreamed up. The Ideal Man possessed all the important identifying details present too- a tall and muscular body like a Greek statue, long eyelashes blinking slowly over playful eyes, dark hair, and lips firmly set into a pensive line with just a hint of mischief tugging at the corner.

The Ideal Man moved forward, and Jason scrambled backwards. The man put his hands out, palms forward, like he was trying not to startle a wild animal, and moved closer again. Jason held still, wondering what the other man was thinking and why he hadn't spoken yet. He was about to start speaking and introduce himself when the man dropped on all fours between his legs and cautiously crawled closer. Words died in Jason's mouth as he tried not to squeak at the invasion of personal space.

The man got so close to his face, Jason thought he would faint. Then the Ideal Man sniffed him. Sniffed his face- tilted his head and sniffed his neck- then ducked down and sniffed his- Jason shot a hand out and pushed the man's face away from his crotch.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

The man backed away a bit, unperturbed, and went back to studying Jason quietly.

"Who are you, anyway?"

The man made a few soft noises and Jason leaned back with surprise. The vocalizations sounded a lot like the kind that monkeys and apes make. A little concerned, Jason tried again.

"Do you speak English?"

The Ideal Man tilted his head and crawled closer again. Jason scooted backwards, but the man kept up until he finally pressed a hand against Jason's chest and pushed down hard. Jason ended up on his back, squirming, and trying his best not to panic again. Why the hell was the man not speaking?

The man's hand darted out and grabbed the glasses off Jason's nose.

"Hey!"

The glasses snapped out of the man's fingers, held back by the cord around Jason's neck. Looking rather frustrated, the man reached forward and jerked the cord up over Jason's head. Jason made to stop him, but his fingers didn't manage to close over the thin rope before it was out of reach and the man was shuffling backwards away from Jason.

"Wait! Hold- I need those to see!"

Jason scrambled onto his hands and knees and made his way to the blurry figure that was still backing away. Realizing that he was being ridiculous, Jason carefully stood up and walked to the other man, holding his hands in front of him just as the other had a few minutes ago. He squinted, trying to make out the man to see what he was doing with his glasses.

Suddenly, the man came hurrying back and Jason nearly tumbled over backwards in surprise. He reached out a hand to steady himself against the other man, but the arm he grabbed drew back sharply just as his fingers closed around it, and Jason fell forward instead. Flushing instantly, Jason pulled his face away from where it had landed against the man's broad chest. He looked up in apology.

"S-sorry- I- I, uh..." He gestured at the glasses still in the man's hands, "I need those to see."

Ideal Man gave a curious head tilt, then lifted the glasses up and over to settle them and the cord as he had found them on Jason's head. His vision restored, Jason gave a relieved sigh and felt at the glasses to make sure that, yes, they were really there, safe and sound. He gave a cautious smile to the man, who stared blankly at him for a bit, then reciprocated with a wide, feral grin. Jason made a step back, so unnerved by the smile which didn't match his vision of debonair smirks and subtle glances that the Ideal Man would have in his arsenal. If anything, this smile was goofy, and a little frightening. Jason cleared his throat.

"So... My name is Jason," he placed a hand on his chest, "Jason." Then he almost placed a hand on the man's chest, but restrained himself from actually making contact at the last moment. "And your name is?"

The man stared at him, more than a little confused. Jason tried again, hand over his heart.

"Jason. My name is Jason. Your name is..." he let his fingers lightly touch the other man's sternum, trying to ignore the memory of that warm chest pressing against his cheek.

The man stirred at the touch, looking between Jason and the hand, then made a step forward against the fingers. Jason quickly retracted his hand, afraid of having offended the man.

"Purr... s- Purr-s..."

Jason watched the man's mouth move, concerned about this development. Ideal Man seemed to really be struggling with the sounds he was forming. How could someone mimic animal sounds so well and fail at human speech? On the man's fourth attempt to enunciate his name, Jason was struck with recognition.

"Percy?"

The man broke out into another broad grin, and made a single, slow nod.

"Percy." Ideal Man let his fingers brush briefly over his own chest before pressing his hand firmly to Jason's, "Jason."

The names came out mangled and overdrawn, but Jason gave a small smile and nodded in encouragement anyway. The man, Percy, looked excited for a few moments, and then his face shifted to confusion. He reached his hand up to fiddle with Jason's glasses.

"Nnname?"

He was so surprised by the man picking up the word so easily, that Jason couldn't even figure out what he was asking at first,

"Uh- glasses. Gla-sses. I use them for seeing. Glasses."

Percy tried to repeat the word, but it came out more "glass" with a very long "s". Jason huffed a laugh, somehow proud of the man's attempt. Not bad for someone that had trouble saying his own name just a minute ago.

Percy reached out for Jason's shirt.

"Name?"

"Uh, shirt. That's a shirt."

"Name?"

"Those are my pants. Pants."

"Paaans." Percy looked around for what else he could ask Jason about. He kneeled down. "Name?"

"That's- those are my boots. Boots."

"Boots." Percy stood up again and stared into Jason's eyes. He pulled carefully at Jason's glasses, and Jason reached up to take them off his ears and let them dangle from his neck. Percy's finger strayed close to Jason's eye, and Jason hurriedly shut it, worried about going blind if the man poked him. A gentle finger stroked over his eyelid a few times.

"Name."

"Eye." Jason pointed at both of his closed eyes with two fingers. "Eyes." Then at just one. "Eye."

Percy's fingers stroked over his lips and Jason couldn't help the way his breath hitched at the intimate contact. The man's thumb pulled at his bottom lip a bit, and Jason swallowed, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and insecure, his longing for intimate contact sharp in his chest. He opened his eyes to ground himself a little. Percy looked fascinated.

"Name?"

"Mou- lips. I mean-" He gestured around his whole mouth, "Mouth." Then poked both of his lips. "Lips."

Percy stared for a little while longer, letting the word "lips" roll off his tongue silently. Then he brushed his knuckles over Jason's ear.

"Name."

"Unh- t-that's my ear. Ear."

Percy touched his other ear too, and carefully enunciated. "Earzzz."

Jason blinked at him. Fast learner.

"Yes, that's correct." He nodded in encouragement. "Ears."

Percy grinned again, proud of his guess, but this smile was a little smaller than the ones before, a little more earnest. It took Jason's breath away. He jumped when Percy's hands, which had been trailing down his arms, brushed over cuts on his forearms. Percy jerked in response. Jason gave him a guilty smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to- My arms hurt is all."

There was no recognition in Percy's eyes and Jason pulled his wrists out of Percy's hands. He twirled his hands a bit.

"My arms. They hurt." He wrapped the appendages around his waist protectively to prevent the man from grabbing where his wounds were again.

Percy flapped his own hands. "Armzz."

Sighing, Jason let his hands drop and touched Percy's.

"Hands." Then let his hands trail up Percy's arms to his shoulders, and then back down to his fingers, his fingertips electrified by the gentle contact with smooth flesh. "Arms."

"Hurt?"

Jason showed off the bruised and scabbed underside of his own forearm.

"Hurt."

Percy's face set in recognition, then concern. He grabbed at Jason's arms before Jason could pull them back, more gently this time, but it still made him nervous. Percy examined the wounds closely, peeking under Jason's sleeves, which he wore rolled up to the elbow, to see if there were any more wounds there. Then he grabbed the back of Jason's neck, and started walking, pulling Jason with him.

"Whoa! Wait- I I'm lost. I have friends I need to find."

Percy gave him a critical look over his shoulder and kept pulling him.

"Jason hurt."

After walking through the forest at a brisk pace for some time, Percy led him out into a small clearing, and motioned for him to stay in the center while he walked to the shrubbery. Jason let his gaze wander over his surroundings, wondering why Percy led him to this specific place when it looked like any other clearing. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously where the skin was slick with sweat from Percy holding him by the nape this whole time. The man kneeled to dig through the leaves of a plant, collecting something.

Jason had to look away in embarrassment suddenly when the man straightened his legs, but stayed bent over, giving Jason a good view of his rear. After a while, he dared to sneak a peek. The man certainly had a good body from every angle. His muscles all over were developed and defined but lean. They flexed enticingly under his skin as Percy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, picking meticulously through the leaves. If Jason were to ever have a live model for his drawings, he would certainly nominate Percy as his first choice.

Percy came back to him with a neat little pile of berries nestled in his hands. He dropped them on the ground and started pulling at Jason's shirt and gesturing and hissing.

"Shirt. Shirt!"

It took Jason a moment to process.

"Y-you want me to take my shirt off?"

Percy tugged at the shirt again and pulled it out from where it was tucked into Jason's pants. Jason pushed his hands away.

"Okay! Okay! Yes. Shirt off. Off."

He unbuttoned the shirt and, taking a deep breath, slipped out of it, very self-conscious about his own body while standing next to Adonis Percy. Percy didn't seem to pay any attention to his appearance, though, pulling Jason down to the ground and sitting with his legs crossed. Jason mirrored him.

Percy took Jason's wrist in one hand, and one of the berries he'd collected in his other hand. He smushed the vibrantly violet berry against Jason's skin and rubbed the bright orange juices around. Jason hissed and tried to pull his arm back, but Percy held fast, only making one of his slow nods and muttering, "Jason hurt," in response. Jason tried to relax and ignore the pain, assuming the other man knew what he was doing. By the time Percy was done treating the cuts and bruises on Jason's arms, shoulders, and parts of his side, the juice where he first applied it stung less, and there was a slight numbing sensation.

Percy leaned back to admire his handiwork. Then he grabbed Jason's ankle, almost tipping Jason over in the process, and pushed away the pant leg and sock so he could examine the skin there. He let go of Jason's ankle.

"Pants off."

Jason didn't move.

"W-what?"

"Jason hurt. Pants off."

Jason groaned and stood up. Percy watched him. Completely uncomfortable, Jason turned around and started pulling off his boots and socks. He was about to undo his belt when he saw Percy crawling around him, curiously trying to see what Jason was doing. Jason let out an undignified squawk and turned away again, looking over his shoulder to make sure Percy was behind him. This time Percy did a roll to come up in front of him, and grinned up at Jason. Oh, God. The man thought this was a game.

"No, Percy."

He threw a glare at the man and turned around one last time, completely flustered by the attention he was getting. This time, Percy grabbed him by the elbows and spun him back around forcibly, holding him in place with strong hand on his biceps. He seemed confused and was squinting down at Jason's belt to see what was so interesting about it. Then, he dropped to his knees in front of Jason and reached for the belt.

"No!"

Jason stumbled away, blocking Percy's hands.

"No?"

Jason grimaced and set his hands on his hips to try to portray his anger to the other man. Percy seemed to get it. He sank down to sit on the ground and, grabbing his own ankles, watched Jason apprehensively. Jason felt a little bad about yelling and freaking out and making such a fuss. After all, the guy was just trying to help him with his wounds. But still... he wouldn't be able to bear that sort of embarrassment. He turned around and undid his belt. Glancing over his shoulder to find Percy still sitting obediently in the same spot, Jason undid his pants too, and slipped them off.

He turned around and faced Percy, holding his pants in front of him like a protective shield.

"Pants off," he said softly to convey his apology.

Percy tilted his head, then got up and made a run for Jason's discarded belt, careful to stay out of reach once he had it, like he was worried Jason might snatch it back. He played with it a little, making the buckle jingle. Finally, he turned back to Jason and held the belt up.

"Name?"

Jason sighed, in relief, glad he didn't upset the other man too much.

"Belt. That's a belt. For pants."

Percy looked down at Jason's pants that he was holding, then his own loincloth. Pulling the belt between two hands, he tried to wrap it around his waist. Jason watched him fumble with it for a while before he finally dropped the pants he'd been clutching, and went to help the guy figure out a buckle.

He reached forward carefully, palms showing, and looked questioningly at Percy. Taking a moment to consider it, Percy turned to square his shoulders to Jason as permission to approach. With shaking, nervous fingers, Jason took the two ends of the belt and fastened them together, slowly so Percy could watch.

"Put on. Put- on- belt."

After Percy nodded and repeated the words, Jason undid the buckle.

"Jason take off belt."

He handed the belt ends to Percy and stepped away. Percy tried the actions for himself. Then he looked up at Jason with a grin.

"Put on. Take off."

"Yes." Jason nodded.

Percy let the belt slide from around his waist and dangle from his hand as he closed the distance between them again, stepping right into personal territory.

Jason held his breath as Percy looped his arms around his waist to get the belt in place, his skin softly brushing against Jason's here and there. He could feel hot air from Percy's open mouth caress his neck and chest. Percy's fingers brushed against the skin just above his underwear and it was all Jason could do not to moan at the contact. How many years had he yearned for the touch of another man there? Fastening the buckle quicker than before, Percy stepped back to admire his handiwork. He nodded slowly.

"Yesss?" He repeated the nodding motion.

Jason nodded back, "Yes."

Then Percy put his hands in front of himself like he was bracing.

"No?"

Jason mirrored the gesture, recognizing the motion from when he'd pushed Percy away earlier. He stepped away with one foot for good measure.

"No."

Percy nodded his understanding.

"Take off belt Jason, yes?"

At Jason's nod, he grinned and strode back to undo the accessory. Tossing it away, he pulled Jason by the neck to where the berries were and pushed him to sit.

Percy dropped down next to Jason, and grabbed one of his legs to pull it toward him, returning to his task of working on the injuries. As he worked, he asked how to say certain things. Jason taught him "heal", "stomach", "chest", "shoulder", "neck," and "cheek". Percy moved on to the other leg and worked quietly for a bit before asking about "feet" and "legs" (Jason also threw in "shin" and "thigh") and, much to Jason's embarrassment, "groin"-

He smacked Percy's hand away with a yelp.

"No!"

"No?"

Percy's eyes seemed to be struggling between portraying shock and amusement. Then he broke out in a flurry of excited movement, one hand tapping fingers against Jason's cheek. Jason felt like the air had been snapped out of his lungs- Percy's smile in that moment was stunning.

"Cheek! Cheek name?"

Jason just blinked at him. Percy asked again, this time trailing his fingers over Jason's ear and down his neck too. Jason shook his head.

"I don't understand."

Frustrated, Percy reached out his other hand to Jason's pelvis, and again, Jason reflexively pushed his hand away, feeling his blush get heavier-

"Cheek! Name?"

Jason looked up at his companion, realization dawning.

"Blush? Th-that's a blush."

"Blush..." Percy trailed off, looking up for a moment, before stumbling into what he wanted to say next. "Percy... Per- nn- Percy-" the man stopped again to think, chewing his bottom lip in concentration. He made eye contact and tried one more time, "Percy... Jason blush."

Jason stared blankly. Percy made a few disgruntled noises, obviously annoyed by not having the words to express himself, and went back to treating Jason's leg quietly, moving his mouth as he silently recited the words he'd learned so far.

When he finished, he stood up, and gave Jason an impatient look. "Belt shirt pants put on."

"Clothes." At Percy's confused look, Jason motioned to all the items mentioned in a circular gesture. "Belt shirt pants are named clothes."

Percy nodded.

"Jason put on clothes."

No sooner did Jason shrug on his shirt and glance around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, than Percy was disappearing through the trees, forcing Jason to run to catch up

Percy found things to eat as he led Jason through the jungle, stopping here and there to climb a tree for some fruit, crawl into a bush for some berries, or dig in the ground for questionable-looking, but rather tasty roots.

As they made their way through the forest, Jason taught Percy new words. "Tree," "flower," "fruit," "sky." By the time Jason was feeling full from all the grazing, he was starting to forget which words Percy already knew and which he had yet to teach, especially since Percy seemed incredibly adept at extracting words from Jason's casual speech and inferring their definitions. He'd managed to figure out "like" on his own. After Jason explained "don't like," and then a few minutes later "want," Percy also puzzled together "don't want."

Jason found his mind reeling at this discovery of aptitude, especially since when Percy wasn't reciting English words, he was talking to himself in what was a distinctly ape-like language. Jason was starting to piece together the unlikely theory that Percy grew up in the forest away from the cultural influence of even the small town Charon was from.

It occurred to Jason, after they crossed a shallow river, that Percy had stopped looking for food and was moving as if he was tracking something. Percy's attention completely otherwise occupied, Jason let his eyes wander over powerful muscles and defined ridges.

Percy stopped abruptly, and Jason snapped his head up guiltily. There were noises coming from up ahead. Leaning over to see past Percy's shoulder, and saw-

Jason snapped his gaze away.

Percy laughed and turned to him, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him forward. His finger pointed excitedly at two rodent-like animals rutting in a shallow burrow.

"Jason! Name?"

Jason sputtered.

"Th-that- s-" he heaved a breath through his lungs bracingly, "God, that's sex, Percy. Sex."

"Sex..." Percy rolled the word on his tongue. He turned to Jason with a grin, and then stopped short with a look of surprise. It was short-lived, however, and another grin, this one much more mischievous pulled his lips wide.

"Jason blush," and then, with an excited glimmer of recognition, "Percy like Jason blush."

Jason was stunned. That's what Percy had been trying to say earlier? He sputtered a little, glared a little, but found no response, so he shrugged Percy's hand off his neck and marched forward, past the fornicating animals. Percy gave a short giggle and pushed past him to lead the way once more.

The sky was starting to turn a pale orange, the way it did every evening as the sun began the last part of its descent. Soon it would turn red, and then fade out to a deep purple before turning black for the night, leaving Jason far away from the security of his fellow hikers and alone in the wilderness with a stranger. A, so far, rather kind stranger, but-

He heard voices.

His spirits immediately perked up, and he waded two large steps with the intent to break out into a run when Percy's arm snapped out in front of his waist and held him back.

Percy leveled him with a serious look.

"No."

After that, they traveled slowly, with Percy intently listening to the human commotion up ahead. Soon, they could see the glow of the firelight gently pulsing through the darkening foliage. Percy stopped and turned to look at Jason. His hand reached out to loosely hold Jason's forearm.

"Jason..." he struggled with his words for a moment, rolling his eyes skyward as they narrowed in concentration, "Percy like Jason. Jason heal. No hurt."

Jason nodded.

"Jason like Percy too. So, you take care."

Percy dipped his head thoughtfully, looking like he was going to say something else, but then shook his head, looking a little frustrated. He sighed and looked up at Jason's eyes, studying him for a moment.

Then he leaned in.

Jason barely bit back a yelp as Percy's nose brushed against the side of his. He kept expecting warm lips on his own, but Percy only nuzzled him deeply, pushing hard enough against Jason's face that he had to step back to brace himself. When it didn't look like Percy was going to stop anytime soon, Jason let his eyes slip shut and returned the favor, brushing forehead, nose, and cheek against him. He sighed at the rather intimate and pleasurable farewell. He heard Percy grin and then the next moment, the man was pulling away.

Once more confronted with Percy's gaze, Jason gulped. His lips tingled at the dissatisfaction. What would it be like, if he just-

Jason leaned forward and pecked Percy on the lips.

Percy looked a bit like he wanted to smile but was too genuinely touched by Jason's gesture to manage.

"Kiss."

Then Jason pivoted on his heel, feeling Percy's warm fingers slip off his arm, and sprinted towards the firelight.


	3. Daydreams of the Ape Man

Percy gripped the next vine as he let his feet slip from the branch. He tightened his core muscles to keep himself secure as the vine arched over and deposited him neatly at another tree.

He couldn't stop smiling today. If one of his brothers saw him, they might think he'd hit his head, but he couldn't help the lazy way he reached for the next vine and dreamily almost floated off the branch.

His next few swings were short connections without touching down on any branches and they brought him out to the part of the river where he'd first spotted Jason yesterday. He jumped down onto the bank, and started retracing the other man's footsteps, curious about how the man had gotten so injured.

He walked leisurely, thinking about how Jason had also been so comfortable walking on two feet. The dark-skinned men who lived at the edge of the forest walked the same way, of course, but Jason was different. Until yesterday, Percy had thought he was the only light man in the jungle, kind of like that white crocodile that lived further down the river- shaped similarly to his fellow crocodiles but obviously different. Percy briefly wondered, not for the first time, if the crocodile was as sad about his condition as Percy was, or if crocodiles could even feel sad in the first place.

His mind drifted back to Jason.

Jason.

The man wasn't as tall as most of the men in the nearby town were, and certainly not as skinny. He was wider, heavier, stronger, with less bones and more muscle. Percy had been surprised to see and feel his body's more square shape. Jason looked like the type of animal that was better suited to stand and fight than run and hide (so his attempt to escape Percy the day before had been rather amusing).

Percy broke out in a giant grin again as he thought about Jason's flushed cheeks. He knew the feeling- the burning in his face when something startled or embarrassed him, but it wasn't until he saw it on Jason's face that he realized that the heat was a visible phenomenon. Percy wondered idly if his own face looked as vulnerable and prey-like when he blushed.

He'd meant what he'd told Jason, about liking the blush. It made Jason look submissive. Not in the pathetic way that weak gorillas grovel for mercy from Kerchak, but in the earnest way mates yielded to each other in tender moments.

That thought made Percy blush, and he laughed joyfully at the realization. He very much wanted to play with Jason the way the troop of blackbacks to the east played with each other, but…

He bit his lip. He'd never seen any of the men in the town engage in that sort of thing, probably because there were females there, just like in Percy's own troop. He wondered if Jason would be interested in that sort of thing.

Probably not, judging from his reactions the day before to Percy trying to scent him and then when he'd asked the name for the area between Jason's legs.

A little frustrated by the thought, Percy reached down and adjusted himself in his loincloth.

He stopped short, realizing he'd lost Jason's tracks during his daydreaming about Jason's body and his cheeks and his eyes-

Percy shook his head, mad at himself, he was not about to fall in that trap again. He'd barely slept at all last night thinking about Jason's earnest, trusting eyes.

He backtracked a bit until he found the spot where Jason obviously climbed out of the river. Looking across at the steeper bank on the other side, Percy immediately saw where Jason must have jumped in. Or maybe fallen in at full speed, if all those broken branches were anything to go by.

Percy returned to the line of trees and climbed up, finding a vine that could take him across. When he got to the other side, his suspicions were confirmed. It looked like Jason had been barreling through the forest at full speed. As Percy retraced his steps deeper into the forest, he realized Jason must have been panicked and very possibly trying to escape something. He forced himself to focus on his surroundings for any signs of danger instead of further reviewing yesterday's events.

He traveled quickly, and it wasn't long before he arrived at a cliff with two travel bags at the foot of the rising wall. It was obvious that the poor man had come tumbling down the unforgiving rock face. He looked around for any sign of whatever had spooked Jason, and seeing nothing, he dropped down and started carefully examining the contents of the bags.

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><p>Bonus small chapter for good behavior. The next chapter will be edited to exclude explicit content. You'll be able to read the <em>unedited, explicit<em> version on archiveofourown (my username is razielim).

I don't really pay attention when people ask me to update. I'm flattered, but you can understand why I can't really let those comments affect me. I update when I can. The next chapter will be up soon, though.


	4. Generosity of the Ape Man

This chapter has been edited to exclude explicit content. If you want to read the _unedited, explicit_ version, find this fic on archiveofourown (same title, same username).

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><p>Thalia refused to let him out of her sight.<p>

She even went with him when he went to relieve himself, for crying out loud. Luckily, she didn't insist on watching him, but it was rather embarrassing nonetheless to be trusted so little. He couldn't blame her, though, knowing she'd been scared out of her mind when they hadn't been able to find him. When they went to bed (and shared her sleeping bag since he'd lost his own) she held him so tight, he thought the guilt would eat him alive. He didn't hear her cry, but he was certain that the wetness on his back had been tears. Even in her sleep, it took a long while for her arms to loosen around his waist.

They spent the morning pushing hard to try to make up for the lost time of the previous day. Jason could feel that Thalia and Reyna wanted to ask him more about Percy, so he was glad the punishing pace kept them from voicing their questions. He'd already told the group everything that was strictly necessary about Percy when he came back last night- the way he hadn't spoken English, the way he took care of Jason's injuries and fed him, and the way he'd led Jason to their camp. Charon seemed to be very interested in this information, and very impressed to hear how fast Percy could learn English. Jason wanted to ask if Charon maybe knew something about Percy, but it was then that Octavian started speaking loudly and pompously that Jason must have hit his head a lot harder than he realized, and that the man was obviously some sort of native African villager that must have had limited exposure to English before, and Charon seemed to visibly close off to the conversation. Jason tried to insist that Percy had been white, but Octavian didn't really care too much, more interested in dressing Jason down for costing them a day's travelling.

The women, however, seemed to sense that Jason had a _lot_ more to spill than he was volunteering. Every chance they got, they asked about details of the encounter, and Jason answered as vaguely as he could, though he knew his blushing was probably only adding to their curiosity. The most trying question of all had come from Reyna during breakfast.

_"So, did he say anything when he left you? I doubt ape-men shake hands as farewell."_

Percy had thought he was going to melt through the log he was sitting on he was so flustered by the question. He'd stammered out a response about how Percy had managed to string together well wishes, but both Thalia and Reyna had stared at him like he had grown a second head. At his numb _"What?"_ they'd only shook their heads with matching looks of disbelief and muttered _"Nothing."_

So now he could feel their eyes boring into both of his temples, like they were hoping to stare holes through his skull and into the inner workings of his mind.

"I'm fine, you two. I'm not going to disappear again."

He started walking faster and they struggled to match his long strides.

He couldn't keep his mind from wandering, thinking about the kiss.

First of all, there were the ethics of the kiss. He'd totally kissed a man who had no idea of the implications of the gesture. Jason would even go so far as to say that he took advantage of the man's ignorance on the subject to live out a fantasy that no one in his regular life would ever have to know about. That _was_, part of Percy's allure, after all. He was entirely separate from Jason's life back in the States, and kissing him would not have any repercussions for his social life.

Secondly, there was the dissatisfaction of the kiss. He'd finally gotten a taste of fantasy, and that was _it_. The _end_. After this, he'd go back to his lonely apartment in Bethesda, his job in Reyna's office, his desperate concealment of his sexuality, and the kiss would fade from memory. Each year, Percy's lips would get a little less warm, a little less soft, until the memory that would remain would be just as fabricated as the daydreams he'd had before he came on this trip. Jason Grace would die as the man who'd only ever mustered up the courage for one small kiss.

Lastly, but most importantly, there was the actual memory of the kiss to pore over. Not just the kiss, but the nuzzling that had led up to it, and it all the touches throughout the day. Jason's breath caught in his lungs, his heart beat wildly in his chest like it was struggling to break free, as he thought about Percy's smooth skin. His long lashes blinking against the bridge of Jason's nose. The light scrape of Percy's nails against Jason's lower abdomen as he fiddled with the belt buckle. The way his thumb had lingered on Jason's lower lip, tugging it down gently into a pout. Jason could see and feel all of these memories distil into one single scene, a thrilling vision, a hot delirium, of heavier touches and fewer clothes. Jason found himself desperately trying to ban the thoughts from his head before it became obvious what he was thinking about, but they kept coming back, stronger and more tempting each time.

Which was part of why Thalia's insistence on following him when he went to empty his bladder during their midday halt was so frustrating. He'd been entertaining the idea of relieving himself in more ways than one, but… No go. Thalia refused to back down on the subject. She refused again when they stopped for the night and he'd tried to sneak away at dinner.

That was how he ended up being wide awake in the middle of the night, eternally grateful that Thalia had insisted on being the _big_ spoon for the second night in a row.

He listened to the snores of the campers and watched the glowing logs of their fire for a long time before he mustered the courage to gently unclasp Thalia's arms from around him and worm out of the sleeping bag.

He looked around. No one had any reaction. Nor was anyone even facing in his direction. He put his boots and shirt on with as much speed as he could without sacrificing stealth. Carefully, watching out for any branches that might snap underfoot, Jason made his way to the edge of the clearing, and snuck out of the light of the campfire. Once past the first few trees and confident that no one would see him, he turned his attention on trying not to run into any danger.

He didn't dare stray _too _far away- as soon as he saw that the light behind him was starting to disappear, he backtracked. He looked around and found a smooth looking tree he could lean up against. He pressed his hands to it, squinting in the darkness as he checked for any spiders or snakes that might be a problem. Seeing nothing of the sort, he turned around and pressed his back to it, swallowing anxiously.

Now that he was here, he threw caution to the wind, desperately palminghimself through his pants. He bit his lip and let his eyes flutter shut as the first sighs tumbled from his mouth.

He pushed his pants down further, until they slipped off his hips.

_[content excluded]_

"Jason."

Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. Nearly screamed. Nearly broke out in tears. His eyes snapped open and looked towards the speaker.

A sliver of campfire light catching on his face, Percy stood between the trees directly in front of him.

Jason couldn't speak. His tongue felt swollen and useless in his mouth. He stood blinking at Percy, too shocked to even move his hands away from his genitals.

Percy, meanwhile, aside from looking slightly abashed at having caught Jason in a private moment, didn't really look like he was planning on turning away or even averting his gaze. His eyes traveled freely between Jason's face and his swollen dick. Making one of his strange ape noises, Percy coughed, and then lifted a canvas bag. Jason stared at it dumbly.

"Name?"

Jason wasn't sure whether to break out into tears or just start laughing, loudly, miserably, and hysterically.

"B-bag?"

"Jason bag?" and Percy held it out like he was offering it.

Jason nodded, and forced out a choked, "Yes," as his hands finally got with a program and abandoned their previous posts to timidly cover his genitals for some sense of modesty.

Percy only glanced down at the action briefly before carefully placing the bag on the ground between them and holding up a second one.

"Jason bag too?"

"Y-yes!" Jason said breathlessly, as this one was definitely the bag he carried his art supplies in. It finally hit Jason what Percy was doing here- the man must have retrieved his belongings. "Thank you, Percy."

Percy nodded, looking thoughtful and looking down at Jason's crotch again. He pointed a finger hesitantly, and took a moment to recall the words to express himself.

"Percy help Jason?"

Jason felt the blood drain out of his face. Help? How could Percy _help?_ Did he _not_ understand what was happening? Was that why he didn't seem particularly bothered about having caught Jason in such a compromising position? He shook his head.

"I'm not _hurt_. No."

Percy gave him a weird look. Not like he didn't understand what Jason meant, but like Jason had said something completely ridiculous. Blowing an irritated puff of air, he motioned again.

"Percy… _sex _Jason."

Jason's jaw dropped.

Percy made a rapid jerking motion to illustrate his point. Then he dropped his hand, his eyes searching Jason's face.

"No?" was Percy's cautious guess.

Blood roared in Jason's ears. His eyes traveled between Percy's face and his hand, strong fingers flexing open and closed as he waited for Jason's answer. He tried to croak out a reply, but he wasn't sure which one.

Percy took a step closer, and Jason snapped into eye contact, startled and confused. Percy eyed him warily, then came forward. Slowly, like he was afraid Jason would run, he raised his hand and reached for Jason.

The fingertip of his middle finger touched Jason's shoulder. Percy ran it gently across, tracing Jason's collarbone, all of his weight on one foot, like he was ready to lean back out of reach at the first sign of retaliation. When Jason only gulped and kept watching Percy's eyes, Percy allowed himself the liberty of stroking down Jason's sternum. Jason shut his eyes as his breath shuddered out of him. Emboldened by Jason holding still, Percy let the pads of all four fingers press against Jason's shivering flesh and trailed them down Jason's stomach.

Jason could feel as the other man stepped closer, braced a hand against the tree trunk next to his head. Percy's body heat cut through the night cool and washed over him. Jason whined and bit his lip when Percy's fingers reached where Jason's hands were and brushed delicately over the sensitive skin where thumb became forearm. He let his eyelids flutter open. Percy was studying him with both fascination and apprehension. Jason shrunk under the gaze, his shoulders hunching up and his hands drawing back from what they were protecting. Percy grinned, slowly and beautifully.

"_Jason_..."

_[content excluded]_

Jason moaned and his left knee half gave out under him, causing his body to jerk downwards unexpectedly. With a sharp inhale, Percy had him gripped tightly by the waist. Jason straightened.

"I'm fine. Sorry."

Percy smiled. Jason couldn't restrain himself and kissed the man again. When he pulled away, Percy chased him with a kiss of his own, obviously catching on that Jason liked the action. They giggled into each other's mouths. Jason distantly realized that he hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Percy's for a few minutes now.

Percy let go of his waist, and pulled away a little to look down. Jason looked down too.

His scalp slid back on his skull in uneasiness.

Percy was untying the loincloth.

"Oh…"

Percy glanced up, not pausing in his task, and flashed his teeth in a wide smile. Jason could see from the glow of the distant firelight that Percy's eyes were excited. What's more, he'd noticed when he'd looked down that the loincloth was suddenly looking a _lot_ tighter than normal. Jason looked around, as if hoping that a way out would be carved into the trunk of a nearby tree. Trying not to panic, he looked back to his companion when Percy let out a small cry of success.

Percy kissed him, and stood back, lightly boxing Jason in with his arms casually braced against the tree on either side of Jason's head.

Jason stared back into Percy's eyes, completely mortified.

Percy's smile slowly slid off his face to be replaced with a look of concern. He looked down at himself, then back up at Jason. Letting his hands drop from the tree trunk, Percy gave Jason a hurt look.

"No?"

Jason struggled for words, his lips moving aimlessly.

Percy suddenly looked a lot smaller than he normally did. His shoulders dropped and he looked _embarrassed_.

"_Wait, I_… I just don't know _how_."

Percy's head tilted a little in concentration. Jason knew he'd taught him, "I don't know," but he wasn't sure if the man got it from the surrounding words. He was about to repeat himself in a clearer way-

"Don't _know_…" whispered Percy, hurt and confusion still scrunching up his eyes, but he looked like he was trying to process the information.

Thoroughly ashamed of his own behavior, Jason reached forward.

He forced himself to look into Percy's eyes.

"Sorry, I…"

He broke eye contact.

"You can't _see_, but I'm blushing," he whispered and looked up, "Jason _blush_."

Something cleared Percy's eyes. He wasn't sure if it was understanding or forgiveness, but he was happy to see that the man didn't look so insulted and rebuffed. He hadn't meant to _do_ that. He hadn't really thought about reciprocation when Percy had first approached him. If Percy could understand English, he'd have explained to the man that his rejection was based entirely on his own insecurities and wasn't a permanent _"No."_ But obviously the man had thought Jason was rejecting him outright, unsatisfied with Percy's attempts at courting. There was no way he could leave that hanging as is.

Jason reached out a shaking hand to Percy hip, and pushed off from the tree to pull himself closer to the man. Percy made a low rumble of approval as Jason slid his hand around him to sink his fingers possessively into the small of his back.

_[content excluded]_

As soon as he returned to full awareness, Percy kissed and nuzzled him almost senseless. They were shallow kisses, as Jason was not about to try using tongue with someone who knew less about the concept than he did, but they certainly did the trick. Jason wasn't even sure if tongues were necessary and wondered why people bothered.

Percy pulled away and picked his loincloth up from the ground, busying himself with wrapping it back around himself. Jason watched him do so when he finished with cleaning off his hand.

Percy didn't even look up at him when he was done, just went over to grab Jason's heavy canvas bag and started carrying it towards the camp. Jason hurried to grab his art supplies and catch up to Percy.

At the edge of the clearing, Percy cautiously peered at the camp, taking in all the sleeping explorers. He set the bag down and turned to Jason.

"Kiss?" he whispered.

Jason leaned in, hands bracing against Percy's warm chest and kissed him gently.

"So you take care."

Jason smiled, knowing why Percy said that. He yawned, finally feeling sleepiness seep through his limbs, then shook his head.

"Good night, Percy."

"Good night, Jason?"

Jason nodded and Percy kissed him.

Then he pulled away, turned around, and walked off, leaving Jason slightly wobbly and completely satisfied.

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><p>This chapter has been edited to exclude explicit content. If you want to read the <em>unedited, explicit<em> version, find this fic on archiveofourown (same title, same username).


	5. Memories of the Ape Man

fanfiction's user interface really isn't as author friendly for uploading and editing as Ao3's is, is it? Blegh.

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><p>Percy spent the morning dozing up in a tree, his limbs still loose and lazy from the night before. He smiled now and then as a ray of sunshine managed to find a path through the leaves to catch his face and bathe it in warmth, reminding him of Jason's gentle touches.<p>

Oh, Jason's touches were divine.

Percy had never really had any expectations for what it would feel like to have another man touch his cock. He'd assumed it would be a fun experience, or else his troop wouldn't have been so obsessed with touching each other all the time. Percy didn't really expect it to be anything more pleasurable than when he did it himself, however.

It was, though.

Just the knowledge that someone wanted to do it for him was enough to send pleasurable sensations running down his spine.

When he was young, he'd tried to touch one of the female gorillas in his troop. All his brothers were engaging in mating behaviors, so he thought he'd try it too. But he quickly learned that not only was the female not entirely enthusiastic about him touching her, she was absolutely disgusted by the idea of touching him. Thinking that she just didn't find him a good enough suitor, he'd tried with another female, and another, until all of them had rejected him and were so offended that he'd even tried that they nearly drove him out of the troop. He'd been lucky that Kerchak had stood up for him, as was his duty as the silverback.

It had weighed on him for years, that rejection, that final confirmation that he didn't belong. For a long time after, the females would refuse to engage in sexual play when Percy was even around, not wanting his eyes on them. Percy didn't particularly mind that he couldn't touch them- he didn't really want to, anyway, he'd only tried because that's what his brothers had been doing. His disinterest in them did nothing to soothe the sting of rejection.

It was a couple years after that, while half his troop was still in the practice of scowling at him for his "mistake," and he'd taken to exploring far from troop territory, that he'd run into the blackback troop in the east. Initially wary of him for being a man, they welcomed him when they realized he could communicate with them easily. He'd spent a good long while living with that troop, enjoying the camaraderie of an all-male group. It was from them that Percy learned that males could play with each other too, and they were all a lot less likely to reject one another than a female might. He didn't dare risk approaching anyone, however, as he still felt like an outsider in the troop. He watched, though, and the blackbacks didn't mind. He had been happy there.

Then a new male had arrived, likely on an exodus from his mother's troop and in search of a new life. The troop had welcomed him easily, with open arms, just like they had Percy after they'd realized he was one of them. But unlike with Percy, the troop had wasted no time in approaching the new member with sexual advances. Soon enough, the new gorilla was happily sidling up to his troop members himself and initiating play. That was when Percy had realized that he didn't belong there either.

But Jason…

He'd been really afraid when Jason had initially looked like he wasn't going to return the favor. It had felt like someone had shoved him into a cold cavern pool when he saw Jason try to back away from him, obviously uncomfortable. It had been like all the happiness of being allowed to touch Jason had turned to poison in his gut, making him nauseous and on the verge of vomiting in shame and misery.

He thought about how sweetly Jason had admitted to blushing and it made him melt on the inside. He still wasn't exactly sure what Jason had meant when he'd tried to explain his behavior, but Jason's actions were all that mattered.

Percy bit his lip and giddily squinted at the illuminated canopy.

Jason had a rough morning. It's not that anything in particular was terrible. It was, rather, the opposite. Everything was wonderful and colorful and fragrant, and he wanted to stretch out in his newly retrieved sleeping bag and doze for a few more hours, dreams alight with pleasure and contentment.

Instead, he'd had an early morning full of interrogation. When had the ape man been here? Why did he bring back Jason's bags? How did he find the bags? How was it that no one else had woken up to witness this ape man?

Octavian looked cross with his, "I don't know"s.

Once that was over, he thought he'd be home-free, but sitting through breakfast trying to keep a straight face was even more trying.

"You're glowing," deadpanned Reyna.

Next to her, Thalia snapped shut her mouth like she'd been about to say the exact same thing.

"I'm… what?"

"Glowing," Reyna enunciated with force, like his good vibe was harshing her buzz.

Jason sighed around a spoonful of oatmeal.

"Wouldn't you be, if something really important was returned to you by a kind stranger?"

"Was it that much of a hardship to share a sleeping bag with me?" ribbed his sister.

Jason could return an unimpressed look as good as he got.

"I meant- my drawing supplies."

That seemed to do the trick and the women straightened and shook themselves a little in comprehension. They didn't bother him too much anymore, content with his answer.

As they packed up and started off on their day's hike, Jason kept the foolish grin that threatened to spill across his face at bay by reflecting on Reyna and Thalia's behavior. It seemed the women engaged in mirroring more and more every day. He would be very happy to see Reyna remain close friends with his sister after they came home. She'd only ever hint at it, but he was certain that she was starved for interaction with other women. Not that Thalia was particularly feminine, but she seemed exactly woman enough for Reyna to be grateful for her presence.

He spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon meandering between daydreaming about Percy and analyzing the characters of his companions (the ones he actually liked, obviously).

He very pointedly did not have any freak outs about how last night had been the first time he'd ever touched a man, or been touched by one, or gone further into the territory of sexual exploration than he had ever hoped to, because that line of thinking, which would probably involve a lot of hyperventilating, would be impossible to hide.

He spent his afternoon uncomfortable because Octavian decided to use that time to torment him.

"So your ape man must not have been wearing a lot of clothing, I'm guessing-"

"Not really-"

"Did he pose for you, then?"

"No-"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, slut? Did you watch him and imagine yourself being in such revealing garments, having men stare at you like a piece of meat?"

It went on like that for a while, with all manner of abuse, accusations, and advances spilling from Octavian's mouth.

Jason tuned him out after a while, refusing to reply, focusing his energies instead on imagining that Percy would visit him again in the middle of the night.


End file.
